Category Archive

As we all know with today’s advancements in technology the world is shrinking!

No matter how unique you think someone is there seems to be someone else just a matter of miles away who is just as or even more interesting. Our quirks and idiosyncrasies are what make us who we are but what do you do when someone follows ‘your style’.

Although I’m late, take a look at this, five New Yorkers who have just one colour in their entire wardrobe, featured in the February issue of New York Magazine.

Some people may think of this as some kind of a sickness while others believe that they are simply ‘different’ then the average person.

How do you feel about it?

What would they do if everyone decided to follow their lead?

It has become a typical practice for people to dress in black or full white all the time but anything else, ummm.

With all this favourite colour talk, I got the thinking and asked a friend of mine what if all PR practitioners adopted this style? Because we don’t have a recognizable uniform if we all wore the same colour we could be the leaders of a new trend?

I found out late last week that KanYe West was ‘not allowed’ to enter the Balenciaga Fashion Week fashion show in Paris and the first thing that came to mind is why? I mean despite his unpredictable behaviour and slick comments haven’t we all grown to love him and his brilliant antics already?With all the speculation I decided to go straight to the source, KanYe’s blog in which his response to the entire situation was as follows

I just love the clothes! Lex and I are not there 2 take pictures… I don’t have an album about 2 drop… my tour is sold out… I love fashion and this is one of the funnest things we can make time for! I totally love and respect any designer that won’t let me come 2 there show… it’s their show… they don’t owe me anything… Balenciaga is one of the illest lines right now and I don’t feel any type of way about not getting in! There’s always a catch 22 in being a celeb … your motives are always questioned… but only time will show my true love MY FIRST LOVE is for fashion and I appreciate just being in a position 2 afford 2 be able 2 spend a week in Paris visiting shows. I wish everyone could have this experience, the new music you hear, the new people you meet and most of all the beautiful clothes! I understand that some designers don’t want all that unnecessary commotion at there shows, that’s what I mean by “I get a lot of attention” … I feel like music and fashion don’t bridge enough… at least not as much as it did in the 80’s when Madonna and Michael actually influenced designers… there was a give and take. I never use my blog 2 clear stuff up… but this is so close 2 my heart I had 2 say something… Anyone saying something negative has it wrong, they’ve got me wrong… I just want 2 make great art on every level and fashion shows are one of the best forms of art in the world. Thank you Paris again for the inspiration!!!

If this is not PR at its best, what is? KanYe West overtly defending himself by placing a reactionary statement for being locked out on his own blog, I loves it. Sound like we should look out for a KanYe clothing line in the near future to me. Isn’t it funny how PR practitioners have been given the name “spindoctors” when in reality that title can be grated to any successful “artist”.Speaking of Balenciaga have you seen the gladiator sandals, for the spring / summer 2008 collection, absolutley crazy!

Last week Sunday, I watched the 50th annual Grammy awards and experienced a number of disappointments: Beyonce’s wardrobe, the background music during Kanye acceptance speech and the word “Nigger” plastered across rapper Nas’s chest.

My initial thought was “I can’t be seeing this on one of the most important nights in music and someone just had to go and act a fool”. To make matters worse he was not the only one wearing this ‘untimely’ (February, Black history month) red carpet get up. The rapper was accompanied by his wife Kelis and about three members of his entourage.

Putting my personal feelings aside towards the term and its many appropriated meanings, I realized that the “Nigger” attire was worn for promotional purposes. To create some buzz for his up coming album conveniently titled, “Nigger”. Rumours had been circulating about the album title since 2006 when Nas wanted to title his last album “the N” however he opted for the less controversial, but equally disturbing “Hip hop is dead”.

For me all this ‘scheming’ seems quite strange as it simply adds to one shady resume. All this coming from the man who delivered one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time 1994’s Illmatic. At a time when Nas established himself as a young gifted poet to the hip-hop world often described as a conscious rapper and a talented lyricist.

So, since then what happened? Some may say he feel off, or he’s getting to old for the rap game…well I think he is doing what many of the major corporations are doing today, he is simply changing with the times. Doing whatever he needs to in order to stay relevant and his attempts through my eyes have worked. Although I am unsure if things had gone the way he or his publicist wanted them to. I watched both pre-Grammy shows on E! and ET Canada but neither of their correspondents spoke to him, however, we can always depend on (the people’s choice) CNN.

I feel that Nas is trying to take strength away from such a historically racial word with such strong loaded meanings, particularly the fact that “we can all be niggers”. This was supported by his wife, who stated that John Lennon shared some similar views as Nas concerning the term on “Women are the niggers of the world”.

Is he educating the hip hop community or discrediting the hip hop community?